What's Good

“I really miss the space and having that really beautiful redwood bar in there,” says Paymard. But consolidating the two restaurants’ menus in the Burger Joint made sense, as the kitchen wasn’t in use in the morning. Keep an eye out for more crossover between the early and evening fare in the new year.

Naturally, there is a breakfast burger topped with a fried egg and hashbrowns ($14), as well as the usual standards. But sides like cheddar grits or a flat iron steak — somehow chicken fried steak with gravy are sides here — may require you to recalibrate your usual brunch order.

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• Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
• The crab cake eggs Benedict at Burger Joint.

The Benedict menu is a mix-and-match challenge, starting with a base of poached eggs on English Muffin, homemade biscuit or sauteed greens ($11). From there, the sauces, from traditional Hollandaise to vegan cashew gravy, additional proteins and toppings are a happy maze. A dollar will get you any of 10 vegetable options, arugula and mushrooms among them; $1.50 adds a dollop of guacamole, pesto, chèvre or caramelized onions. The basic breakfast meats like ham, bacon and soy chorizo run $2 and serious add-ons like grilled salmon, crab cakes or steak are $4. The possible permutations are dizzying. Consider carefully.

On a recent visit, we wound our way through the choices to a lightly crusty biscuit with a moist interior, halved and toasted, with a pair of pleasingly lumpy crab cakes made in-house with blue crab claw meat and a hit of Old Bay seasoning, lemony Hollandaise spiked with jalapeño over top ($15). Traditionalists may roll their eyes, but a fresh, warm biscuit yields to fork and knife far more easily than an English muffin. If you love — really love — Canadian bacon, then the classic version is for you. But you’re not always going to be presented with homemade crabcakes, tender inside and browned at the edges, lovely on their own but even better in a spill of creamy yolk.

If the none of that tempts you, not to worry. The burger menu is available from opening to close and the staff does not judge.